Maya's Dance by Helen Signy

Author:Helen Signy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Published: 2024-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

The midwife hesitated as they approached Sawin. The harsh beams of the searchlights fractured against the solid sheet of rain; the dirt had disintegrated into myriad potholes full of water that would freeze by morning. The camp was calm and quiet; there were still no lights in the Commandant’s house. Maya muttered a silent prayer as she pulled back the barbed wire to let the midwife through. Her jacket snagged and Maya set her free, her hands trembling with cold. If the midwife was surprised at the existence of this camp with its hundreds of slave labourers, she did not show it.

The pounding of the rain masked their footsteps as they hurried towards the kitchen building. Maya looked for the guards; the bright tip of a burning cigarette showed her they were sheltering in a doorway. She and the midwife would not be seen. ‘Quickly,’ she whispered, beckoning the midwife towards the ladder. ‘Be quiet, please be quiet.’

They arrived in the loft to the sound of Erna’s soft moans. Pavel’s relief at their arrival filled the room. The midwife hoisted herself to the top of the ladder and got to work, swift and efficient. She palpated Erna’s belly, hesitated, then felt again. ‘Ah,’ she turned to Pavel with a smile. ‘Two. There are two babies.’

Maya caught Pavel’s face in the lamplight. A flash of joy and pride mixed with terror. How could they possibly keep two babies quiet? She left them then, knowing she had a full day’s work ahead in the freezing rain with no sleep. But her steps were a little lighter as she made her way back to her bed and hung up her sodden clothes, the first twinge of dawn lighting her way.

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